


The Sarah Jane Adventures: Series 5B - End of Tales

by EternalVoid



Category: Doctor Who, Sarah Jane Adventures
Genre: Action/Adventure, Eventual Romance, Family, Multi, Romance
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2017-09-25
Updated: 2017-12-08
Packaged: 2019-01-05 11:35:34
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Major Character Death
Chapters: 3
Words: 16,409
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/12189231
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/EternalVoid/pseuds/EternalVoid
Summary: In commemoration of ten years of SJA.“Life is good on Bannerman Road, and after five years, Sarah Jane Smith couldn’t be happier, but as often as day turns to night, a shadow passes over Sarah Jane’s home and dark forces threaten to tear apart her story- and her new family- in two. Sarah Jane and Bannerman Road are hurtling towards one destination: the end.”





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> Based off the final six unmade episodes of The Sarah Jane Adventures, End of Tales sees Russell T Davies' original vision for the series come to life, interpreted and adapted by Zoe Lance.
> 
> The series can also be found on its official website, The Never Ending Universe, where the series is currently into its third series.
> 
> http://sjaneverending.weebly.com/

**Meet Mr Smith - Part One**

Humanity basked in the deep rooted psychological fear that their computers would develop sentience and overthrow them. That the concept of humanity and thought and free will would conflict with their chuntering, mechanical, logical thought processes. 

But what would happen if a computer accepted one side and rebelled against the concept they were built for?

Mr Smith was a Xylok, a crystalline based life form embedded into an advanced computer system in a chimney. In essence, he was a computer system, and computer systems worked in fixed cycles. Chuntering away in an organised and efficient manner until they were run down and broken.

Mr Smith never felt this way, however. He didn’t feel this way ever since his reboot, and he certainly didn’t feel like he was old and rusty while working with Sarah Jane on a case one dreary day while Clyde, Rani and Sky gossiped about the latest drama at school.

“My scan is complete, Sarah Jane.” Mr Smith informed her. “All seems to be as it is meant to be.”

Sarah Jane nodded with a smile. Mr Smith couldn’t place any additional information to the smile. He was built for facts, not imagination - though he did have his moments. Simple, cold, hard facts. Everything was a routine.

They all left soon enough to turn in for the night, Sarah Jane being the last to leave. She bid him a goodnight, flicked off the light and closed the door as she left. Mr Smith slowly began to retreat into slumber for another night. It was just routine.

Until it wasn’t.

***

It was a quiet day on Bannerman Road. The crisp, chilly autumn air was biting and the group decided to spend their day in the attic. By the attic door, Sky Smith stood patiently while Rani Chandra stood over her, measuring the younger girl’s height with a metre ruler and a marker. Clyde Langer was splitting his time between watching the girls and reading a school textbook while investigative journalist Sarah Jane Smith sat working by the computer, flicking through documents and filed paperwork.

“I don’t believe it,” Rani spluttered incredulously as she pulled the stick from Sky’s side and stood at her full height. “You’ve grown- again- in a week! What’s Sarah Jane feeding you?”

“I like to eat my greens.” Sky giggled proudly, bouncing on the balls of her feet. Sarah Jane smiled softly at that.

“Something I could never do.” Clyde proclaimed as he high-fived Sky.

“Er, yeah, like that’s anything to be proud of!” Rani snorted, giving Clyde a light shove.

“Oi!” Clyde whined, rubbing his shoulder. “Watch it or I’ll bite your knee.”

The three basked in laughter while Sarah Jane typed away on the computer.

“If I may interrupt, Rani,” Mr Smith’s monotone voice rang out, drawing attention. “I find it highly illogical to use such...standard methods for measuring Sky’s height when my scanning equipment is functional and ready to use.”

“Oh. it’s nothing personal, Mr Smith!” Rani assured the supercomputer. “This is just how mum used to do measure my height.”

“How….contrived.”

“Oi!”

Sarah Jane chuckled at the brief exchange.

“It has sentimental value, Mr Smith.” she added. “She’s fond of the method.”

“I’m afraid I do not understand.” Mr Smith decided. Sky trotted up the steps to where Sarah Jane sat, peering over her shoulder to look at her work, curious.

“What are you working on?” Sky asked curiously.

“Collecting information for a case.” Sarah Jane explained, leaning back and crossing her arms. “A corporate billionaire wrapped up in business he should not be involved in.”

“Have you got any conclusive proof?” Rani asked worriedly, approaching them and eyeing the spreadsheet with concern.

“No.” Sarah Jane admitted.

“How do you know he’s guilty then?” Clyde asked curiously, alternating his gaze between Sarah Jane and the computer screen.

“Call it intuition. Liam Drake is exactly type of person to be involved in business he shouldn’t be involved in.”

“Why do you need proof?” Sky asked innocently. Sarah Jane smiled warmly at her. Sky was still so new to the world. She still had so much to learn.

“I can’t just go and accuse him, Sky.” Sarah Jane explained. “It could get me into trouble.”

Sky considered this before nodding slowly, showing she understood. Her eyes drifted towards the image of a different man printed on a sheet of paper.

“Who’s he?”

“Noah, the Pride and Joy of Foxgrove village.” Clyde recited, earning strange looks from his friends. “What? I read...at times!”

“Shocker!” Rani drawled, pinching his cheek playfully. "Hang on, wasn't Foxgrove demolished?"

“It was, but Noah’s always talking about resurrecting the old ways. Foxgrove's an example of that,” Sarah Jane mused. “I’ve been trying to get an interview.”

“Why?” Sky asked.

“Intuition,” Sarah Jane smiled warmly. “It’s been a long time since I’ve been to Foxgrove - new or old.”

“Alert, alert!” Mr Smith cried out, alarms blaring. A warning sign flashed on the screen, disrupting any further conversation that may have stemmed.

Before anybody could react, an object crashed through the stained window. The object was spherical and dirty. Ominous looking spikes covered it- almost like it was a shield. It hovered in the air for several seconds before moving in the blink of an eye and attaching itself to Mr Smith’s keyboard.

“Mr Smith, what is that?” Sarah Jane asked, jumping out of her seat. The three teenagers gaped at the scene, confused.

“Alert! High levels of mutagenic energy detected!” Mr Smith blared as the sphere opened and a stream of multicoloured liquid poured out of the object and into the chassis of the supercomputer. “You must all evacuate immediately.”

“Come on, move!” Sarah Jane demanded. The first to snap out of her stupor, she reached over and grabbed Sky by her arm, dragging her out of the door and into the corridor to the covers of safety, quickly followed by Clyde and Rani. When they were all safe, Sarah Jane slammed the attic door shut.

Mere seconds later, a bright white flash of light erupted from the other side of the door, then there was silence. Cautiously, Sarah Jane pushed the attic door open and took a tentative step forward, closely followed by Clyde, Rani and Sky. Everything appeared intact, so Sarah Jane turned to her young compatriots.

“Is everybody okay?”

Rani and Sky nodded their heads in affirmation, but Clyde was staring at something. Sarah Jane followed his gaze and noticed a strange man standing in front of a charred Mr Smith, smiling delightedly at them.

The man was dressed in a pinstriped grey suit, a handkerchief in his top pocket and an umbrella over his left arm. He was also wearing a bowler hat.

“Hullo!” the man waved.

“Who are you?” Sarah Jane demanded, keeping her distance. The man sighed dramatically, rolling his eyes at her.

“Oh Sarah Jane, really. I should have thought that was perfectly obvious.” the man doffed his bowler hat, smiling broadly and flailing his arms dramatically. “I’m Mr Smith!”

A derisive laugh escaped Rani’s lips. Sarah Jane took no chances and opened her wristwatch scanner, scanning the new arrival.

“Is he armed?” Sky asked worriedly.

“No weapons.” Sarah Jane confirmed.

“Unless you count the brolly.” the suited man agreed.

“There’s nothing out of the ordinary about him,” Sarah Jane decided at last when her watch stopped bleeping. “He’s a normal human being.”

“Oh dear, that makes me sound so terribly dull.” He frowned. “Scan again! Scan for excitement!”

“Stay where you are!” Clyde shouted, snatching up an alien looking gun and pointing it at the mysterious man. “I mean it!”

The supercomputer sparked again, vying for everyone’s attention.

“Is Mr Smith okay?” Rani asked worriedly. Sarah Jane diverted her scanning device and scanned the wall unit.

“Fine, Rani, thanks for asking.” the man replied from his corner.

“Shut it!” Clyde hissed.

“No, that’s impossible.” Sarah Jane whispered, flying over to the storage unit where the Xylok crystal was housed. The door was slightly ajar and when Sarah Jane opened it, she found it empty. The Xylok crystal had been destroyed. She stood up, shocked. “Mr Smith is dead!”

“If by ‘dead’, you mean stood right here in a rather natty ensemble then break out the black crepe!” the man quipped. “The sphere is harmless, by the way, since I know that’s what you’re all wondering about. It’s empty. I’ve absorbed all of the mutagenic energy. Oh, and Clyde?”

“What?” Clyde barked.

“Could you find something more threatening than a Trantarian nose clipper to threaten me with?” the man asked, unimpressed.

“You know all our names.” Sky realised.

“Of course I do!” the man exclaimed. “Sarah Jane Smith, Sky Smith, Clyde Langer and Rani Chandra! I also know Clyde is a week behind on his essay on Picasso-”

“Hey!” Clyde exclaimed.

“Oh, don’t be so selfish. Shouldn’t you be helping Rani? She’s on her seventeenth driving lesson, she could use all the help she can get!”

“Oi!” Rani gasped, offended.

“Well, if you’re that huffy about it, how about we talk about how Sky has grown three inches in a fortnight, or about how Sarah Jane devoured an entire packet of custard creams last night while she was researching for an article on solar energy?”

Sarah Jane blushed when three pairs of teenage eyes landed on her.

“I was hungry.” she muttered lamely.

“Did you know she once had tea with the queen and stopped an oil rig spillage at the same time?”

“Excuse me-” Sarah Jane started to protest.

“Hush, dear,” Smithy raised a hand, silencing her.

“What? You met the queen?” Clyde asked in surprise. “And you never told us?!”

“Well, it’s not exactly something people would speak of freely, is it?” Sarah Jane hissed. She always did that. Keeping her more luxurious endeavours a secret. The last thing she needed was Gita Chandra running around spreading the news across the neighbourhood.

“No, this is a trick.” Clyde decided, dismissing the man’s knowledge.

“No, _this_ is a trick!” the man declared, producing an ace of hearts card from Clyde’s ear. Clyde recoiled in shock. “How many times do I have to say it? I’m Mr Smith! The mutagen energy transformed me from my default Xylok crystalline form to that of a human being, flesh and blood.”

“This is weird.” Rani decided.

“You’re telling me,” Mr Smith remarked. “We Xylok look down our crystalline lattices at organic life. You know, I always thought being human would be disgusting.”

“Oh, cheers.”

“Although…” the bowler clad gent trailed off as he started to jog in place, to the confusion of the four other people present in the room. “I think I quite like it!”

“What do we call you?” Sky asked the man.

“Call me?” Mr Smith inquired as he sniffed a flower in the vase, plucking it up and placing it in his buttonhole. “Hmm...I don’t know. What do you suggest?”

“How about Smithy?”

“Smithy?” the man pondered. “Smithy...Smithy, Smithy, Smithy. Yes, I quite like Smithy. Good job, kid!”

“Do you remember much?” Rani asked curiously.

“No.” Smithy said mournfully. “You humans have such tiny brains. I can’t fit all of my knowledge in here! It’s ghastly!”

“That sphere.” Sarah Jane frowned, staring at it. “I don’t think this was any accident. It’s deliberate. Someone wanted Mr Smith to become human.”

***

Clyde and Rani set about cleaning up the broken glass shards while Sarah Jane concluded her phone call to UNIT. Sky kept Smithy company in the meantime. A couple of minutes later, Sarah Jane walked back into the attic.

“What did UNIT say?” Rani asked.

“There’s been no activity from any of the other buried Xylok crystals.” Sarah Jane replied.

“Can you sense anything, Mr Smith?” Rani inquired, instinctively turning to the chimney breast.

“Smithy. Over here.” The three turned to see Smithy lounging on the chair, biting into an apple Sky had given him. “Unless you’re expecting an answer from Father Christmas I wouldn’t bother.” he paused, his eyes wide. “Oh goodness, I can make jokes now! That is much better than facts!”

“Well,” Clyde turned with a smirk, “In any case Rani, you-”

“Might as well be talking to a brick wall!” Smithy exclaimed. “Ha! Beat you to the punchline!”

Clyde scowled as Smithy tossed the apple aside and grabbed a banana Sky passed over.

“Aren’t you going to unpeel that?” Sky asked curiously.

“Why?” Smithy scoffed before biting in the unpeeled banana. “It’s tastier this way.”

“You’re dressed all old fashioned.” Sky pointed out, eyeing his clothes.

“If it’s any consolation, dear, I don’t know why I’m dressed like this.” Smithy confessed. “I don’t remember a lot of things. I have these gaps in memories. Human brains.”

“Yes, you’ve said.” Sarah Jane interrupted, deciding to take action. “Maybe UNIT’s Skywatch satellites will have some information. It could be a good idea to check.”

“Oh, must you?” Smithy groaned. “They said ‘no alien activity’, ergo day off, ergo - let’s go out! The shops! You all love going down to the shops, let’s all go down to the shops.”

“No, absolutely not!” Sarah Jane snapped. “I won’t allow it!”

“Sarah Jane,” Smithy said seriously. “You are guilty of false imprisonment of a fascinating new life form. Or perhaps she just wants me all to herself, eh kids?”

Clyde and Rani inwardly cringed and Sky cocked her head to the side, confused.

“You can’t just go bounding out there!” Sarah Jane retaliated. “We don’t know if anyone’s after you! There has to be a reason they made you human.”

“Well, if you’re so bothered, I offer a brilliant cover story!”

“I’m listening.”

“I am the long lost cousin of Sarah Jane Smith- that’s you- who has come to stay. I could take the spare room while good old Luke is away! It’s brilliant, flawless, let’s use it!” Smithy beamed. His beam morphed into a frown once he noticed Sarah Jane’s incredulous expression. “Oh, come on! While you study your dreary reports, me and the gang will go shopping!”

Without waiting for a response, Smithy bounded out of the room excitedly, his steps precisely timed and rhythmic, like a well choreographed dance. A moment of silence filled the air. The group stood, unsure of how to respond, when a shrill voice cried out,

“Good lord, what terrible wallpaper!”

Sarah Jane rolled her eyes.

“Keep an eye on him.” she told her three young friends. They nodded and gave chase to the man that was once their supercomputer. When they were out of sight, Sarah Jane turned to her computer and booted it up.

For all their faults, Sarah Jane didn’t believe for a second that UNIT didn’t maintain their Skywatch satellites to the best of their abilities.  
“So, what do you want to see first?” Sky asked.

“Coo-ee! Rani!”

“Oh no,” Rani groaned. Gita Chandra trotted up the drive happily, eyeing the group of four with interest and unbridled curiosity.

“Hello! You off somewhere?” Gita asked Rani, her curious eyes never leaving Smithy’s attire.

“We’re just going into town, mum.” Rani informed her. “Oh, this is Smithy, Sarah Jane’s long lost cousin come to stay. Smithy, this is my mum.”

“Your mother?” Smithy scoffed, leaning closer to Gita with a charming smile. “Are you sure you’re not her sister?”

“Ooh!” Gita giggled. “I like your flower!”

“Thank you very much.”

“Tell you what, I can get you carnations for half price,” Gita offered, “I run a flower shop, wouldn’t you know!”

“That’s wonderful!”

“Yeah, we really need to get going.” Rani interrupted, grabbing Smithy by his sleeve and pulling him down the drive, closely followed by Clyde and Sky.

***

The Shadow Architect sashayed down the spacious hallway with pride, her boots clacking on the ground as she walked towards her destination, her piercing red eyes scanning each and every corner of the corridor for any faults or cracks.

A door slid open and she walked into a room. A Judoon stood waiting for her while one of her sisters worked at a nearby computer. The air was tense. They had a job to do. The resurgence of the Time Agency was not helping matters. Time Agents were running amok searching for their target and hindering their operations. They had always been a facetious lot.

“Have we found our target?” the Shadow Architect asked, her voice crackling like thunder.

“No, ma’am.” the other woman in the room whispered, ashamed. “We have managed to isolate the signal back to Sol 3.”

“The backwater planet.” the Shadow Architect scoffed. Why anyone would ever bother with that snivelly little planet, let alone the last Time Lord in existence, was beyond her. She scowled. She turned to a new figure that had appeared behind her.

“I was hoping that I was being quiet.” the man sighed in an augmented voice. The Shadow Architect sneered at him.

“Your attempts at aloofness are pathetic, Kai.”

“Hmph.”

“You have a new mission.” the Shadow Architect adopted a tone of authority, one that brooked no argument. “You will infiltrate Sol 3 without any assistance from the Judoon or Atraxi and locate Ozmo. You will then bring him here to be detained. Should you fail, I will personally see to it that your prison sentence is extended rather than shortened. Do you understand that?”

“Yes, mum.” Kai rolled his eyes. He moved to stop the Shadow Architect when she prepared to move away. Her hand darted away just before they made contact and she glared at him for attempting such a crude attempt at physical contact. She was such a drag. “What I don’t understand is why I can’t have the good old squaddies to help me? It wouldn’t make things easier, mind you, but it’d be hilarious to watch those idiots knock down everything in sight.”

“Keep talking Kai and I’ll lock you up in the chambers for another millennia.” the Architect hissed. “The Judoon are needed for another case and the Atraxi have shown….hesitance to return to Sol 3.”

“Losers.” Kai snorted. He sighed derisively, waving his hand in the air.

“You can hide behind your bravado, boy, but I know what you did. There’s no reason Miss Jackson and her cohorts shouldn’t either.”

Something shifted in Kai’s demeanour. His eyes darkened and the atmosphere became stifling, making the workers present in the room anxious to escape. A predatory growl escaped his lips...and a knife suddenly appeared in his hand.

“You wouldn’t dare.”

“Wouldn’t I?” the Shadow Architect sneered. “Never forget who is in charge here, boy.”

Kai receded. He used it to slice lettering into his arm. He didn’t stop until EARTH was tattooed into his arm. A reminder of his mission. He really didn’t want to face the consequences of the brand if he failed. “I accept your mission, Shadow Architect. When do I leave?”

“You’ve been in there for ages!” Clyde complained as he stood outside of the clothing store dressing room cubicle. “Hurry up!”

“Patience never was your virtue, was it?” Smithy quipped. “I’ll be out in a minute!”

With tremendous flair, Smithy shoved the curtain aside and posed majestically.

“You’re wearing the same thing!” Clyde spluttered incredulously.

“I know!” Smithy exclaimed, delighted. “This is a marvellous little shop, let’s come again sometime! Are you paying?”

“Why do you have to make everything ten times harder?!”

Sarah Jane flicked through some of the data she collected while the printer continued to spew new information and data.

Rani set her baguette in the bagging area of a self-checkout machine and fished around her pocket for spare change. Sky and Clyde were in the bookshop next door and Smithy was watching her with bizarre intensity.

“Unexpected item in bagging area!” the machine’s squawked in a shrill tone. Rani froze, her eyes drifting and lingering on the brolley placed opposite her tuna baguette.

“Talking machines, don’t ya just hate ‘em?” Smithy asked innocently when Rani fixed him with a glare. She opened her mouth to retort when the man galloped off further down the shop. Rani watched him go in confusion.

“What’s up?” Clyde asked. He and Sky had left the shop with a Cinderella book for the younger girl to read. They had bought ice cream cones before deciding to see what was taking Rani and Smithy so long to leave the shop.

“Smithy just took off!” Rani exclaimed, pointing at the former supercomputer’s retreating form. Clyde and Sky followed her gaze.

“We should probably follow him,” Clyde said.

“Yeah, we probably should.” Rani agreed. Sky nodded her head in agreement. With that unanimous decision, the three teenagers traversed across the store to Smithy’s stooped form. He was helping somebody pick up their groceries.

“Thank you” a familiar voice gushed, flustered. “It all happened so fast.” 

“Mum?” Clyde froze, astonished.

Carla Langer looked up at her son. She had been on her weekly grocery run when she decided she was craving Mojito. In her excitement, she had forgotten to look where she was going and accidentally bumped into a man, her groceries toppling to the floor. The man had left her to pick up her groceries alone, and Carla wasn’t expecting an immaculately dressed man to swoop in and help her, despite her protests.

“Oh,” Carla smiled. “Hello, love. This your friend?”

“Quite! We’re great chums, Clyde and me,” Smithy smirked. “I’m staying with my cousin, Sarah Jane for a while.”

“Oh, you’re related to Sarah Jane? I had no idea!”

“Well, she’s not exactly forthcoming about familial relations,” Smithy amended.

“Yeah, and we need to get going, now.” Clyde hissed, interrupting the moment. The two were smiling at each other weirdly and it was making him uncomfortable.

“Right, yes!” Carla gasped, realising the time. “I’d best be off. Got to make lunch. Anyway, it was nice to meet you, Smithy!”

“It was nice to meet you too,” Smithy smiled charmingly. He pulled out the carnation from his top pocket and offered it to her, a charming smile etched on her face. “For you.”

“Oh, thank you.” Carla blushed, accepting the offered flower, to Clyde’s astonishment.

“My mum fancies a screensaver!” he gasped. Rani, on the other hand, was too busy eyeing a particular advert pinned to the store’s billboard to listen to Clyde’s infused rant.

***

Sarah Jane flicked through the notebook idly, searching for any clues that could point her in the right direction on this case. On the coffee table beside her was a box of Krispy Kreme doughnuts. Without looking away from the printed notes, she reached for the carton, her fingers wrapping around the soft dough, reaching to devour it when-

“Naughty, naughty!” Smithy tutted, startling Sarah Jane into a jump. He stood in the doorway of the attic, his arms crossed and his face marred by a disapproving frown. “You really should watch what you eat, Sarah Jane.”

“If I want a medical check, Mr Smith, I will ask for one.” Sarah Jane retorted.

“Smithy,” the man corrected, “Do keep up. Mr Smith is so drab and formal.”

“Yeah, well, how was your day?” Sarah Jane asked, hoping to switch tracks in the conversation. Smithy perked up instantly.

“It was quite astonishing!” he remarked. “We went all sorts of places, I never realised human life is so exhilarating! All those sights, tastes and smells, it’s marvellous. I met Gita and Carla too.”

“Oh, I bet that was an experience.” Sarah Jane chuckled, leafing through her book. Smithy suddenly went very quiet, watching her intently. Sarah Jane didn’t pay any attention. She felt the couch dip with added weight, but didn’t think much of it, continuing her research for any clue on the phenomenon.

“Sarah Jane?”

“Yes?” she looked up to see Smithy gazing at her fondly.

“You are a remarkable person, Sarah Jane,” Smithy told her. “Your dedication- all the lives you’ve saved, I can truly appreciate that now. It’s astonishing.”

Sarah Jane was taken aback by the praise. She hadn’t expected it from Smithy, of all people. It felt...nice.

“Thank you.”

***

“Sky, you’re a newbie to Earth, aren’t you?” Smithy asked as he clambered into his borrowed bed. “Do you know how to sleep?”

“Sleep?” Sky repeated.

“I don’t think I know how to,” the man confessed. “When Luke first came here, he didn’t know how to either. Even with the minds of tens of thousands of people, he couldn’t dream or sleep. The Bane built him to last, so he eventually found a way to just...switch himself off. Am I like Luke? What if I can’t ever sleep? What if I can’t dream?”

Sky frowned, unsure how to respond as she tucked him in. She attempted to articulate her thoughts and reply but Smithy fell asleep as soon as his head rested on the pillow. She smiled and quietly left the room.  
Smithy awoke feeling rather ill. It was strange, he hadn’t devoured any more of Sarah Jane’s doughnuts. A strange noise prompted him to look down at his hand. He was startled to find it flickering and crackling with red Xylok energy. The house was relatively quiet, it must have been very late. The only things his ears registered was his breathing and Sky’s conversation with someone he couldn’t hear or identify in the next room over.

The television set in the room crackled to life, the blue haze illuminating the dark room. A line of black, bold text appeared in the middle of the screen, the letters appearing one after the other, almost as if someone was typing.

Mr Smith, I need you.

A set of instructions and a threat accompanied the message and Smithy knew what he had to do.  
The Challis Museum was deathly quiet, the only figure active was one security guard. With his hat pulled over his eyes, Smithy kept to the shadows to avoid detection. He slipped past the guard effortlessly and silently skulked to the exhibit area. He singled out the case containing the matter relay and approached it.

Smithy’s blurred fingers brushed over the case, and the matter relay glowed green. He moved his hand back, the relay resting in the palm of his hands. Triumphant, Smithy slipped out of the museum again.

It only took a short while to reach the warehouse- time was relative to Smithy. The warehouse was old, derelict, decrepit. There was a leakage somewhere he couldn’t locate and a small gap in the room.

Standing beside a door further down the corridor was Ozmo, a humanoid with monkey-like features. His face was covered by a mask. A monkey mask with round eye holes, revealing his scarlet irises, a norm of his race, the Ozmoids. A jewel necklace was wrapped around his neck and he wore a mustard brown coat. The corners of his lips curled into a smile when he spotted the artefact in his hands.

“Finally! Cheers!” the alien chittered excitedly. “At last I can leave this depressing planet. Cold enough to freeze your monoids off, it is, and the people are as thick as two Graske!”

“Erm, do you have it?” Smithy asked tentatively. “You said you did.”

“Sure,” Ozmo replied, tossing over a small red device. “I’d have thought you’d hate being a human. I know I would.”

“I quite like it,” Smithy mumbled absentmindedly as he placed the nozzle attached to the back of the small red device to the back of his hand. The flesh stabilized and the illness Smithy previous felt quickly subsided. He sighed contentedly, “Is that all?”

“Yes, it was,” Ozmo nodded. “Well, I’m off. Enjoy being a human!”

***

It was morning by the time Smithy returned to Bannerman Road. He opened and closed the door quietly. He turned around and froze. Across the hallway was Sky, wearing her dressing gown and holding a bowl of cereal, staring back at him with curiosity.

“Oh, there you are!” Sarah Jane exclaimed as she hopped down the stairs, already dressed for the day. “Where have you been?”

“I was...taking a nice stroll!” Smithy decided. “I heard about the roseate dawn, wanted to see how roseate it actually was, and let me tell you, it’s pretty darn roseate out there.”

“You know, you’re a lot like Sky,” Sarah Jane noted, eyeing Smithy’s bedraggled tie in disdain and reaching over to fix it. “You both like to experience new things.”

“Why, yes, I suppose we are,” Smithy grinned, pointing at Sky seriously. “Carpe diem, look it up!”

Sky watched him for a second before she walked into the living room, a spoonful of cereal already in her mouth.

“Any plans for diem?” Sarah Jane asked, admiring her handiwork and stepping back with a smile. Smithy pondered for a moment.

“Oh, nothing exciting.” Smith decided. “Although…”

“Yes?”

“Could I have the address to Clyde’s house?”

***

“It's an emergency!” Clyde hollered as he burst into the attic in a panic. Sky looked up from her Cinderella book. “My mum’s dating a screensaver!”

It had started out as a normal day for Clyde. He woke up, sketched a bit, brushed his teeth, ate his breakfast and helped his mum take out the bins. It was while they were taking out the bins that Smithy appeared, offering to help Carla clear out and work on their shed. Carla had agreed brightly, and the pair had shooed a repulsed Clyde away.

Sky tilted her head to the side. “You mean Smithy?”

“Yes!”

“I think it’s sweet,” Sky giggled.

“I think it’s disgusting,” Clyde retorted as he sat down on the couch beside her. “Enjoying the book?”

“Yes.” Sky smiled. “It’s nice. Your mum is like Cinderella and Smithy is her handsome prince!”

“I wouldn’t go that far,” Clyde chuckled nervously. Rani wandered into the attic, a newspaper in tow.

“To think that all this is still happening and we can’t do anything about it,” the girl sighed, showing her two friends the headline- Robbery at the Challis Museum.

“Mr Smith would have been able to detect that.” Sky noted.

“If he’s not too busy fixing sheds,” Clyde murmured under his breath.

“It must be hard, protecting the Earth all the time.” Rani pointed out. “Not like we do, he does it twenty-four-seven. Imagine what that’s like?”

“Maybe we could do his job for him!” Sky offered. Clyde and Rani chuckled skeptically at her enthusiasm.

“I don’t think we can, Sky.” Rani replied. “We’re not supercomputers.”

Sky frowned. “There could be. We just have to find a way to do his job.”

“Clyde!” Smithy burst into the attic looking pleased with himself. “Your mother was delighted with my work on the shed!”

“Why did you show up at our place today, anyway?” Clyde asked, suspicion leaking into his voice. “What are you up to?”

“Why, nothing at all!” Smithy replied coolly. “I’m simply trying to cheer your charming mother up! You said you wanted somebody to.”

“Oi, that was meant to be a secret!” Clyde hissed, annoyed. Sometimes, when it was a quiet day and everybody had their own things to do, Clyde would sit by Mr Smith and tell him things that were never supposed to be shared with others, like how his mum deserved better in life than what his dad had given her. “Who says you could blurt stuff like that out?”

“Oh,” Smithy simmered down, chastised. “I’m sorry, Cl-”

“Mate!” Ozmo’s voice chittered. Smithy jumped, startled. “Can I call you ‘mate’ now?”

“Oh my!”

“What is it?” Rani asked worriedly.

“They can’t see me, if you make my presence known, I’ll kill them,” Ozmo explained at the same time as Rani. Smithy’s eyes alternated between Rani and Ozmo. “I need your help.”

“What?” Smithy squeaked.

“Are you okay?” Rani asked.

“I need you to get me a diamond! I’ve got the coordinates right here.” Ozmo replied at the same time.

“No.” Smithy answered them both.

“Oh, Clyde, look what you’ve done!” Rani snapped, glaring at the spluttering Clyde.

“Oh, we can’t have that.” Ozmo said darkly, standing behind the curious Sky. “I mean, I could kill them with no qualms. None whatsoever, but that’s not all.”

Smithy’s hand started to crackle. Alarmed, he shoved his hand into his trouser pocket.

“I should probably mention that the stabilizer shot I gave you was from a bad batch. You’ll be a Xylok by midnight if you don’t do as I say.”

The Ozmoid hologram disappeared and Smithy felt ill. He had to stop this. They didn’t deserve to die because of him.

“Right then,” Rani stepped back from her argument with Clyde, pulling him off the sofa and bringing him in front of Smithy. “Shake hands and let it be water under the bridge, you two. Come on!”

Clyde grudgingly held out his hand, waiting impatiently for Smithy to shake it. Smithy didn’t comply. He quickly patted Clyde on the head and bounced out the door, leaving three confused teenagers in his wake.

“Oh, by the way, Rani,” Smithy poked his head through. “Could you hand me my brolly?”

“Er, sure,” Rani nodded, picking up the brolly and walking over to pass it to him. Smithy thanked her and leaned in close to whisper something. Three short words that caught her off guard. Smithy retreated as soon as the last word left his lips, off to who knows where.

Clyde loves you.

***

Smithy strolled through the vaults of the Maximum Security Area casually, whistling a tuneless note as he opened the seventeenth vault door, his fingers a blur. The metal door slid open and Smithy stepped into the room. His eyes scanned the area and landed on a drawer. Successfully figuring out the passcode, he opened the drawer and admired the shiny crystal hidden inside.

“You were right, I am remarkable.”

Smithy jumped at the sound of Sarah Jane’s voice, spinning around to see her step into the same room, sonic lipstick in hand.

“Sarah Jane!” Smithy gasped. “How did you…”

“Find you?” Sarah Jane smiled thinly. “The tracking device in your tie could be an indication.”

Smithy sighed. He had been caught.

“What’s the hold up?” Ozmo demanded as his hologram flickered to life. “I need that diamond. Hurry up!”

“Sarah Jane, I can explain…” Smithy said, edging closer towards her. “Look at my hand, I need to do this.” Smithy held up his hand and Sarah Jane stared at it in confusion. With her guard down, Smithy snatched the sonic lipstick from her. The energy crackled around her wrist and Sarah Jane winced in pain.

“Ouch!”

“I’m very sorry,” Smithy sighed, pulling her further into the vault. He looked over at the diamond and a sense of hope filled him. “It’ll all be over very soon, I promise.”

“How can you be so sure?”

“It’s complicated.” Smithy managed, leaving her alone in the vault. “I’m sorry again.”

“No, wait!” Sarah Jane exclaimed as the vault door closed. The energy around her wrist dissipated and she ran towards the vault door. She hammered at the door, trying to break free. “Mr Smith? Mr Smith, I can help you! Mr Smith?”

“I wouldn’t knock too hard, Sarah Jane Smith,” Ozmo cackled. “Who knows, you might be better off in here - with what I’ve got in store for this miserable planet!”


	2. Meet Mr Smith Part Two

“Ozmo!” Smithy roared as he stalked through the dark warehouse, searching for his target. The warehouse was old and rustic. The drippage of rainwater could be heard from a fault in the structure of the building.

“You took your time.” Ozmo’s growled. Smithy turned to see the alien glaring at him with beady eyes.

“Can you blame me?” Smithy hissed angrily, glaring at the man. “You’ve just made me lock up a friend of mine and before that, you’ve made me steal! Again!” 

“Do you want to stay human or not?,” Ozmo retorted. “I’m sorry and all that. Here, to make up for it, how about another stabiliser?” Ozmo produced a clear yellow liquid in a syringe and played with it. “Tell you what, why don’t you apply the shot? Mark of trust!” Smithy eyed the shot warily before finally snatching it out of the alien’s hand, depositing the diamond into his clutches. “Excellent, excellent...”

“Yeah, whatever.” Smithy muttered as he applied the shot. He felt the yellow liquid course through his veins, a more tolerable sensation than having to listen to Ozmo’s awfully scripted diatribe- the alien had no pizzazz-. Tossing the syringe away, he strode towards the door with purpose. 

“And where are you going?” Ozmo squawked. 

“Sarah Jane is still locked up in that vault, I have to help her!“

“Do you have to?”

“I can’t just leave her there!”

“No, party pooper!” Ozmo sighed. “I’m just asking if you leave it a couple of hours. I have to power up the indices for the teleport. You know how I want to go home, don’t you?”

“Well, yes, but-”

“And you’ve been working with that old biddy for years. You guys are a team. Once a team, always one and all that. Why don’t we just...forget about this little incident?”

“What-”

“You’ve helped her save the world all the time. I’m sure she won’t mind this one time. Besides, maybe you’ll laugh about this one day!” 

“Well, yes. We’re a team.” Smithy realised “We always have been. All I’ve done is rescue a wayward traveller- and coincidentally secured a reward for myself- yes,” Smithy nodded resolutely, “yes, of course she’ll understand.”

“That’s the spirit!” Ozmo cried out sarcastically as he stomped off, leaving Smithy alone in the warehouse. The bowler hat adorned man stood in silence, mentally deliberating over what to do with himself, when he realised what he had to do, and smiled. He turned towards the warehouse doors and left with renewed purpose. Somewhere out there was a woman in need of rescuing, and he was capable of saving her.

~SJA~

Sarah Jane fiddled with her phone. It was useless, the battery was dead. She had been stuck in the vault for ages. Sky must have been so worried. What’s worse, nobody had arrived to take her away or arrest her. 

She would have to find a way to deal with the latter.

“No signal, no sonic, nobody can hear me-” Sarah Jane sighed hopelessly. “Oh, Mr Smith, what are you doing?!”

~SJA~

“Dinner as well? It’s not my birthday!” Carla exclaimed in surprise, finishing making her fifth Mojito of the week. “I thought we were having a quiet day in?”

“It’s a good thing I booked the restaurant then!” Smithy chuckled. He stood in a red telephone box with a smile on his face. Carla attempted to protest, but Smithy cut her off. “Carla, my dear, life’s for living and dinner is for eating.”

“What does that mean?” Carla giggled.

“Don’t let either get cold, of course!” Smithy exclaimed the two indulged in some chuckling. “See you at eight!”

~SJA~

“Straight to voicemail again.” Sky remarked with a growl as she dialled Sarah Jane’s number once again. She paced about in the attic, ignoring the charred chassis and her two friends to the best of her ability. It was hard, remembering that Mr Smith wasn’t really gone and was actually a human being running around. 

She couldn’t stop pacing. She was nervous, maybe even scared. Sarah Jane was never gone for so long unless something had happened or she had destroyed her phone. Again.

Sky sighed and sat down on the steps, unsure as to what she should do.

“Aw, cheer up, Sky.” Rani smiled sadly. “I’m sure Sarah Jane will be back soon, you’re not to blame. If anything, it’s Smithy that should be blamed.”

“Oh, you’ve changed your tune.” Clyde scoffed, glaring at Rani. “What happened, Miss Mediator, finally seeing how wrong you were.”

“Oi, that’s not fair!” Rani retorted. “You were just angry at him for fancying your mum!”

“That’s not true!”

“Really?”

“Yeah!”

The two resumed their argument and Sky sighed silently, trying to reach Sarah Jane once again.

“Well, you were the one who wanted us to be friends!” Clyde argued.

“Yeah, well, what else have you told him, hm?” Rani asked, boring her eyes into him. “How do we know you haven’t been confiding secrets about us into Mr Smith.”

“Stop it!” Sky cried out, reaching her boiling point. Her two friends were having petty arguments and Sarah Jane still wouldn’t pick up her phone. “Don’t you see that this isn’t important now? We have to find Sarah Jane!”

“Yeah,” Rani nodded. “Yeah, you’re right, Sky.”

~SJA~

Sarah Jane was not a damsel in distress. She actively despised the thought. It was just a way to bring women and their self-esteem down further. She was resourceful, and she had resources at her disposal. Flipping the lid of her wristwatch scanner, she placed it next to the steel vault door.

“Come on, come on…aha!” her face fell as she noted the readings. Approximately four hours.

It appeared that she was going to be waiting for quite some time.

~SJA~

Smithy and Carla were seated in a fancy restaurant. Soft classical music drifted along and filled the room with its dulcet tones. Couples dined together with fancy cutlery and plates, beaming at each other and it was quite possibly the first time in her life that Carla felt pampered.

A waiter approached them with a silver platter as Carla observed the other couples in the room. Most were dressed in all sorts of fancy garb and she felt a little ridiculous sitting in her old dress. She flushed slightly in embarrassment, hoping Smithy didn’t notice. Thankfully, he was busy beaming down at the silver platter as the waiter removed the lid to reveal their starter plates. A small smile graced Carla’s lips.

“A bottle of champagne, monsieur.” Smithy ordered with his patented charming smiles. “The Crystal!” He noticed Carla’s confused glance and chuckled nervously. “Aha, private joke.” 

Carla giggled. She was so happy she could burst. There had been relatively few times she had felt so elated and breathless, one of these momentous occasions being the day Clyde had been born, and it was a potent feeling. 

“Are you okay, Carla?” Smithy asked in concern. Carla smiled and nodded.

“Yes, yes, of course, don’t worry about me. It’s just…” she sighed. “You’ll find it silly.”

“Well, that cannot be determined until you tell me what’s bothering you.” Smithy pointed out. “Come on, out with it!”

“I’m just surprised, is all.” She chuckled sadly. “I mean, with Paul, my old husband, I didn’t get this much. I couldn’t really expect much at all. No fancy restaurants, nothing to spoil me. I could only ever expect battered sausages and tizer, so, yeah...it’s nice. Thank you. I don’t think I’ve quite met anyone like you.”

Smithy nodded, his confident demeanour replaced by a calmer, more sensitive aura. He sat up straight in his chair and gingerly place his hand on top of Carla’s surprising her. 

“To be honest with you, Carla, just lately, I’ve started to see life in a very different way.” Smithy told her in a quiet tone that attracted her attention. It was sincere, which she appreciated more than she cared to admit. “All those year I was working, facts and figures, data-”

“You did IT?” Carla interrupted, surprised. “Like, working with computers?”

“You could say that.” Smithy agreed. “But now I can see- I neglected all the important things….fun, friendship, spending time with someone special…”

“Oh, I’m nothing special.” Carla dismissed, a low, self deprecating chuckle bubbling from her lips.

“Clyde certainly thinks you are.” Smithy commented.

“Oh, Clyde would never say something like that!” Carla laughed, turning a vibrant shade as embarrassment enveloped her at the thought. 

“You’d be surprised. He thinks the world of you, and who can blame him?”

Smithy allowed his comments to sink in, partly because the waiter was beginning to approach them with more silver platters in tow.

~SJA~

“I can’t stand it!” Sky exclaimed suddenly, rising from her seat and stomping over to the two teenagers. “We’re not just sitting here and waiting!”

“Well, I get that, Sky, but there’s nothing we can do,” Rani pointed out. “For now at least.”

“No, there is something we can do.” Sky decided a moment’s deliberation, stomping out of the attic and leaving her two friends confused in her wake. The two gaped at the open door wordlessly until Sky poked her head back in. “Come help me!”

“What are you up to?” Clyde asked.

“There’s no time to talk.” Sky answered brusquely. “Come on!”

In a couple minutes, the attic had been completely reformed. Newspapers were stacked high on the computer desk- courtesy of Rani procuring multiple from the local library- and the portable TV that Clyde and Sky had carried from Luke’s bedroom had been plugged into Mr Smith’s computer chassis and was currently streaming the news channel. 

“Rani, read the newspapers.” Sky ordered, “Clyde, check the news channels on the TV.” she left the room to fetch the kitchen radio.

“She’s the new one and she’s taken over!” Clyde muttered to Rani, who shot him a glare.

“Why are you telling me?” she sneered.

“Stop arguing!” Sky snapped as she walked back in with the radio in hand. 

“I don’t get what this is all for, Sky.” Rani admitted, eyeing the newspapers.

“Mr Smith is gone and somebody needs to do his job, the hard way.” Sky replied. “We have all these resources, we should use them. Do our job. We have to find Sarah Jane!”

“Yeah...yeah, you’re right.” Rani agreed with a firm nod. “Well, what we are waiting for?”

With that, the attic was filled with a multitude of voices as the group listened intently for clues or signs of an alien incursion or Sarah Jane’s location.

~SJA~

“About time!” Sarah Jane exclaimed as the vault door slowly slid open and two burly looking guards glared at her. Sarah Jane paid them no mind, her eyes quickly drifting over their sidearms before she resumed her tirade. “I need a phone charger, a direct line to UNIT High Command, a copy of your CCTV footage, and a cup of tea wouldn’t go amiss.” The guards exchanged a silent look before one of them approached her and slid a pair of handcuffs around her wrist and locking them in place. Sarah Jane winced and admitted, “or we could do this the hard way.”

Before the guards were able to cart her away for questioning, a pair of knives sliced through the air and made contacts with their throats, slitting them open. The two guards collapsed to the floor, twitching sporadically before crumpling motionless.

Sarah Jane gasped at the sight, her leather jacket stained with blood. Her eyes latched onto the source of the murders: a man, standing nonchalantly in the doorway of the Maximum Security area twirling a knife in his hand, studying her. He had a curious expression etched on his face His eyes blazed with such intensity that Sarah Jane knew she would have to keep her guard up around him, even if she was currently handcuffed and unable to do anything useful.

“You’re really old,” the man informed her, causing Sarah Jane to falter.

~SJA~

The waiters pulled the lids off the platters to reveal a rather spectacular meal. A terrine of confit free range chicken, ham hock, savoy cabbage with sauce gribiche and, to Carla’s surprise, Smithy was thinking about donuts for dessert.

“Wow!” Carla remarked as she examined the range of food, her stomach rumbling perilously. She hadn’t realised she was so hungry. Picking up her knife and fork, Carla began to eat, neatly mirrored by Smithy. The pair sat in comfortable silence as they salivated at the taste of their meal. “This is amazing! Bit much, though. I wonder if I’ll be able to finish it all!”

“Little tip for you, Carla,” Smithy leaned in conspiratorially, a trail of sauce staining the bottom of his lip. “Stop eating before you become physically sick, so much more enjoyable.”

Carla couldn’t help the laugh that escaped her. It wasn’t a brisk, even laugh, it was a beautiful, uncontrollable laugh straight from the pit of her stomach. She hadn’t properly laughed at something for so long, she had forgotten what it was like.

“Thank you,” she sighed when she sobered, reaching over to touch his hand. “For everything.”

They sat like that, simply staring at each other lovingly. A moment so peaceful and tranquil them that was perhaps the first time in a very long time. Such a moment was never meant to last- a lesson Carla had learned early in her life- as a brisk cough broke the peace and sent them crashing back to reality. They looked up to see the maitre d’ looking down at them with an ambivalent expression.

“Pardon moi,” the man apologised in his thick french accent. “Tres urgent telephone call for Monsieur Smith.”

“For me?” Smithy was taken aback.

“Oui.”

“Oh, I see.” Smithy nodded, suspicion gnawing at his insides. As the maitre d’ skulked off, Smithy turned to Carla with a puzzled frown. “Please do excuse me, Carla, I was certain I had finished everything and-”

“Oh, it’s fine, honestly.” Carla smiled warmly. “Go and take your phone call. I’ll still be here.”

“Thank you.” Smithy said before he walked out of the dining area and towards the telephone in the wall, suspicious. Nobody would be calling him, Ozmo said he had finished everything and the caped do-gooders didn’t know of his location. The kitchen doors were closed and there shouting on the other end as the cooks frenzied to get everything prepared in time. He picked up the phone and was greeted with silence on the other end. Smithy frowned, confused. The suspense didn’t last. Ozmo’s hologram flickered to life, grinning inanely at him. 

“What the Hell do you want now?!” Smithy snapped, furious. “I’ve done everything! You’re meant to be gone, anyway. What are you doing here? Oh, it doesn’t matter, what do you want!?”

“Let me explain, mate!” Ozmo chittered, holding up a hand to silence him. Smithy conceded, crossing his arms. “The teleport indices are all wrong. They’re not calculated properly, they’re all wrong!”

“No, this wasn’t what we agreed-” Smithy’s rant was cut short by an all too familiar crackling. He looked down to see his hand crackling and growled, “What is the meaning of this?”

“Aww, sorry, mate!” Ozmo apologised insincerely. “The shot must have been from a bad batch, Ah well, what can you do? My eyesight’s rubbish in this planet’s atmosphere! Come on, mate, I only need you for half an hour at the very least!”

Smithy paused, conflicted. He turned and looked through a crack in the door at Carla waiting patiently for his return. He wanted to refuse, run back to her and resume their dinner. It was going perfectly, but his hand was too far gone. It was spasming and flickering wildly. 

“Fine!” he snapped angrily. “Half an hour, and I want the proper shot this time!”

“Course.” Ozmo dismissed as Smithy stomped out the back door to meet him. His eyes flickered to Carla, who continued to wait. “Oh, I am sorry to break up your romantic little evening.” he smirked, “but don’t you worry love- this really is the last job for good old Smithy!”

~SJA~

“Excuse me!” Carla cried out, beckoning the maitre d’ over. “My friend- is he still on the phone?”

“No, madame.” the man replied. “I believe he has just left.”

“Oh.”

“I presume you will not be wanting to see the dessert menu, madame, shall I fetch the bill?”

Carla nodded, shattered and alone, not for the first time. She looked at the bowler hat and brolly Smithy had taken off when they had started their dinner, and then at a young couple the next table over sharing a kiss, and her face fell once more.

~SJA~

“Excuse me?” Sarah Jane gasped. She may have been afraid of this strange alien humanoid, but she was still insulted.

“No, seriously,” the man continued, seemingly ignoring the fact he was casually insulting her. He twirled the knife in his hand as if it was a baton. “You’re old. Old, old, old. Super old! Way too old to be Ozmo, anyway.”

“Ozmo?”

“Yeah, keep up.” he scoffed. “And you’re definitely not a guard or I would have killed you. So, granny, who in the name of the Shadow Architect’s frizzy hair are you?”

“Sarah Jane Smith.” Sarah Jane proclaimed proudly. She had to hide her fear but she didn’t want to face the consequences of bravado. “But more to the point- who are you?”

“Sarah Jane Smith?” the man repeated, looking chastised. “Oh great. She’s going to kill me.” 

“Who?”

“Kai.”

“Kai?” Sarah Jane repeated, confused.

“Yeah, that’s me.” Kai pointed at himself in introduction. “Kai- unwilling ambassador of the Shadow Proclamation, a bunch of losers who have nothing better to do than uphold the affairs of galactic law.”

“But you don’t have to work for them.” Sarah Jane pointed out. Kai laughed darkly, tossing the knife into the air and swiftly catching it.

“If only.” Kai sighed. His fingers twirled over the hilt of his knife and he pointed it at her, his expression completely reformed to suspicion. “I’ve heard great things about you. Your story resonates throughout history and, try as I might, I highly doubt you would rob a bank. It goes against everything. Why are you here?”

“My friend’s in trouble, I need to help him.”

“Your friend?” Kai stared at her, puzzled. “Why would he need help? Was he here?”

Sarah Jane said nothing.

“He was, wasn’t he? And now he’s gone and left you to deal with the consequences. He’s an agent of Ozmo, I gather?”

“What does it matter to you?” Sarah Jane demanded defensively. Smithy may have found himself in bad company, but he was still her friend. She struggled against the handcuffs, but it was no use, they were constricted. She was defenseless.

“I have the wonderful job of fulfilling whatever the Shadow Proclamation tell me to do, this is my mission: capture Ozmo and detain him. If you’re friend is assisting a wanted felon, I will put him down.” 

“No, don’t you dare!” Sarah Jane exclaimed desperately, trying to wriggle out of her shackles. Kai studied her once again, his eyes fostering a colder hue.

“Maybe the stories were wrong after all.” Kai muttered. He fitted the knife back into its sheath and glared at her, bring his thumb and forefinger into front of him. “You better pray to some nonexistent God that you find him first, Sarah Jane Smith. You don’t want to know what’ll happen to him if I do. The race is on.”

In the blink of an eye, the enigmatic Kai was gone, and her handcuffs with him. Sarah Jane twisted and rubbed her hands soothingly, stepping over the bodies. She couldn’t mourn them or even look at them, she was far too terrified of what could happen to Smithy if she didn’t find him immediately.

She had work to do.

~SJA~

“He did what?!” Clyde roared down the phone, his grip tightening marginally. Rani and Sky briefly glanced at him before getting back to work, though they continued to eavesdrop. 

“Oh, I dunno, he got a phone call and the next thing I know, he was gone!” Carla explained. Clyde couldn’t see her, but it was clear that his mother was upset. “He’s not over at Sarah Jane’s with you lot, is he? Did something come up?”

“No, mum, he’s not here.” Clyde refuted sadly, not wanting to crush his mother’s hope even more.

“You won’t tell anyone about this, will you?” Carla asked hopefully. “Don’t want to look like an even bigger idiot than I am…”

“I won’t. I promise.”

“See you later love, don’t worry about me. I’m used to losers,” Carla whispered sadly, tears threatening to spill. She quickly disconnected the call. Her son didn’t need to hear her breakdown.

“I’m going to kill him.” Clyde swore, tightening his grip on his phone. “He’s been nothing but trouble!”

“Is your mum okay?” Rani asked worriedly from her position by the desk. Clyde’s head snapped up towards her, his eyes stormy and clouded by anger.

“You don’t need to know about my private business, Rani.” he retorted angrily. “This isn’t just about finding Sarah Jane anymore. We find her and Mr Smith, and when we do, I’m gonna-”

Sky shushed him loudly, shooting him a glare. The chastised Clyde conceded, embarrassed by his behaviour. Satisfied, Sky turned around and picked up the remote control, turning the volume up on a news report that was playing on the television.

“...recent break in at the Asquith Bank Vaults. There appear to have been signs of a struggle, and two guards have been reported dead.” A male news reader announced coolly.

“Look!” Sky pointed out. Rani and Clyde followed her gaze to Sarah Jane’s trademark vehicle, parked in the corner of the street where the news report was taking place. “Sarah Jane’s there!”

“We can confirm that a theft of a fine-cut diamond worth £1.5 million has been successful and police are now working to find the culprit and retrieve the valuable item.”

“Sarah Jane must have been there to stop the diamond from being stolen!” Sky deduced. 

“It must have been Smithy.” Clyde concluded brusquely. “Why else would she have been in the area?”

“Oi!” Rani cut in, glaring at Clyde. “Yeah, you’re mad at him, we get it, but you’re forgetting that for everything Smithy is, he’s not a murderer!”

“Well, we’re not exactly Saints either,” Clyde retorted. “All the Slitheen we killed? We can’t just hold Smithy on a pedestal! He’s nuts! It’s pretty obvious he broke in and stole the diamond.”

“The diamond?” Sky murmured, a thought springing to mind. “Break in? There was a break in at a museum the night Smithy was out! If Clyde’s right, that must have been where he was!”

“Which robbery?” Rani inquired.

“The Mayan artifact from the Challis museum!” Sky exclaimed as she fished through a pile of alien objects. “A normal person couldn’t have pulled it off, it must have been Smithy! Aha!” with a triumphant flair, Sky pulled out a portable scanner. “We’ll start helping by looking in the museum. C’mon!” she ran out the door.

“That’s why she’s in charge.” Rani noted. “Listen, after all this...we need to talk.” Clyde nodded in agreement. With their argument put on hold, the two seniors left the attic and chased after their younger friend.

~SJA~

Smithy’s hand was still crackling. Clutching it helplessly, he staggered into the dirty warehouse, his strength slowly draining with each step. His skin was burning up, he wasn’t quite sure what was wrong.

“Ozmo?” Smithy croaked, almost stumbling over a crate in his feverish haze. His eyes were bleary, his ears rung and his nose was runny. He looked around aimlessly, searching for the strange alien. The low rumbling of a light switching on caught his attention, and soon enough Ozmo’s figure appeared, a beat down portal behind him.

“Get to work.” The Ozmoid demanded. He was always demanding nowadays and Smithy was starting to wonder if his comedic act was really an act. His bleary eyes were drawn to the gun in the alien’s hand, and Smithy knew he would have to fix the indices as quickly as possible. “Ain’t she a beauty?”

Smithy didn’t respond. He began to total the indices quickly and efficiently. The sooner he was finished, the sooner the Ozmoid could leave the Earth, and Smithy could be human forever. His work was quickly disrupted when his hand crackled again.

“This isn’t working,” Smithy sighed. “I need the stabiliser shot.”

“No, you don’t. Come on!” Ozmo urged. “You’ll work quicker this way!”

Smithy sighed. As much as he would like to be, he wasn’t in control of the situation.

~SJA~

“Sky, come on! We only have ten more minutes!” Clyde hissed, peering over the corner.

“I’m almost finished!” Sky replied, eyebrows furrowed in concentration as she fiddled with the scanner in the palm of her hands. Clyde and Rani had agreed to keep watch for any guards while she finished up her scan. The silence and tension between the pair was palpable.

“So, it’s come to this, eh?” Rani sighed, fed up with the silence. “Avoiding each other because of some secrets we didn’t tell each other?”

“Well, when you put it that way, it does sound pretty weird.” Clyde muttered. The two stared at each other, the corner of their lips tugging into a smile. The two shared a brisk laugh at their pettiness. “Especially since it wasn’t really your fault, it was Smithy’s. I’m...sorry, Rani.”

“Yeah, me too.” Rani apologised with a sad smile. “Trouble is, we’re always going to fight aren’t we? Isn’t that what mates do?”

“Yeah…” Clyde nodded, a frown marring his face. It was now or never. “Listen, Rani, I have something I have to tell you.”

“Yeah?” Rani looked at him expectantly. 

“I’ve found something!” Sky explained, her scanner beeping rapidly. Clyde and Rani broke their gaze, embarrassed, and quickly crossed the hallway towards Sky. 

“What is it, Sky?”

“Dymolectic energy!” Sky chirruped. “Traces of it! They’re usually connected to…”

“A matter relay!” Sarah Jane’s voice cried out. The trio of teenagers turned to see her grinning at them, her wristwatch scanner open. “Well done, Sky!”

“Sarah Jane!” Rani gasped. “What happened to you?”

“It’s a long story,” Sarah Jane scowled. “I’ve had a feeling about Smithy for a while now. Good thing he didn’t think to take off the tracker on his tie! Come on, we have to find that diamond!”

~SJA~

“...There.” Smithy panted, beads of sweat glistening off his forehead as the indices whirred to life, a blue ethereal glow illuminating the warehouse. His eyes were drawn to the giant screen placed behind the lights, which was unnoticeable before without the proper lighting. Smithy held his tongue. He couldn’t question anything if he wanted to keep breathing. 

“Ha ha!” Ozmo chittered. “I had my doubts, but you’ve proved yourself. Here,” he tossed a shot towards Smithy, who stumbled to catch it, “A proper one this time. You may as well apply it before I change my mind and shoot you.”

“So, this energy thing, what’s it for?”

“It’s for a long range teleport, Clyde.”

Smithy froze, the nozzle of the shot a breath away from his arm. His eyes flew to the monitor and his heart sank when grainy footage of his friends encapsulated the screen. They were in the other room. 

“Well, we can’t have that, can we?” Ozmo chittered darkly, reaching for the gun he had discarded earlier. 

“Wait!” a panicked Smithy cried out. “Let me talk to them! They’re only here because of the energy trail!” 

“Fine,” Ozmo replied easily, a little too easily. “Go on! Before I shoot you!”

Smithy quickly scuttled out, his chest tightening with effort. Ozmo watched him leave. When he was sure he was alone, he cackled, spinning to activate the portal. 

“Fools, the lot of them!”

~SJA~

“I am so very sorry.” Smithy stammered as he crashed through the door, to the gang’s surprise. “Oh, here.” He tossed the sonic lipstick over to Sarah Jane. “Am I forgiven now?”

“You!” Clyde cried out, attempting to lunge at him. “Who do you think you are?!”

“Clyde, stay back!” Rani ordered, struggling to hold him back. 

“Smithy, what are you doing?” Sarah Jane asked, her tone demanding answers. “I want answers. Now.”

“Well, there’s this alien called Ozmo- he’s the one who made me human- who said he was human and needed help and he offered to make me human. I really wanted to be human, I love it! Much better than being a Xylok and so I would just help him out and-” Smithy paused his diatribe and cringed. “...and that sounded much better in my head.”

“You know there’s quite a hefty penalty for assisting felons.” 

The group spun around to find Kai watching them, swinging his knife casually. The air became tenser, and Rani pulled Sky closer towards her instinctively. 

“Oh, not you!” Sarah Jane growled. “I thought we had a deal!”

“We did, how about we call it a tie and be done with it?” Kai asked, stalking forward before Sarah Jane could respond. “You could get put in the prison on the Shadow Proclamation, ‘Smithy’, or the poison planet of Mebuki. So many options: what do you do to a felon? So many options, but it doesn’t matter. They need Ozmo alive, but they never said anything about hired help.”

“Stop it!” Sky exclaimed, stepping towards Kai defiantly, despite her friend’s cries of assertion. “Leave him alone!” 

Kai froze, staring straight at the girl. He looked like he had just been slapped. His mouth opened and closed as he tried to formulate words. 

“But...you-”

Before Kai could continue, the entire warehouse shook unexpectedly, surprising everyone. A deep, pulsating noise reverberated off the walls. A bright light trickled out of the room Smithy had previously exited.

“What’s that?” Rani asked cautiously.

“It’s starting.” Sarah Jane realised with horror. “Come on, we don’t have much time!”

The gang, accompanied by a staggering Smithy and surprisingly silent Kai, entered the main warehouse just before another tremor sent them staggering. Ozmo was by his console, watching them and laughing maniacally.

“Having fun?” the Ozmoid chittered, his mask bouncing sporadically. Kai snapped out of his stupor and growled, launching a knife at the alien. The knife bounced uselessly off a translucent barrier. “You really should’ve known better. Don’t you need me alive?”

“They never said anything about needing you back in one piece!” Kai roared. Ozmo simply cackled in response. 

“Ozmo, what are you doing?” Smithy gasped as he staggered again. He suddenly felt very dizzy. “You said you were leaving!”

“Oh, I was just leaving!” Ozmo responded dully. Sarah Jane was less trusting.

“How do we know you’re telling the truth?” she demanded. “You’ve used him like a puppet!” 

“Sarah Jane?” Rani called out nervously, her eyes scanning the equipment beside the Ozmoid. “Isn’t that a bit too much for one teleport?”

“Ooh, a know it all!” Ozmo gasped dramatically before erupting into another fit of giggles. “She’s right though, I’m not leaving. I’m bringing!”

“What do you mean?” Sarah Jane asked warily. 

“Oh, don’t you know?” Ozmo inquired contemptuously. “Has your little buddy been keeping mum? Naughty!”

“I don’t understand.” 

“This scuzzy little planet is dull, boring, but it provides excellent slaves. All those tiny little humans and their inability to slow their reproduction cycle- it’s perfect!” 

“What, you want to turn us into slaves?” Clyde spluttered.

“Not just me!” Ozmo giggled darkly. “There are loads of creatures that have a grudge with this miserable pit stop of a planet. Who says I need to have all the fun? I’m fine with just killing the odd humans now and then!” 

“I understand now.” Sarah Jane whispered, the truth dawning on her. “You’ve made Mr Smith fully human so he can’t monitor the skies and keep aliens at bay! That’s why you gave him the correct serum!”

“Correct again!” 

“This is insane.” Clyde growled. 

“I won’t let you do this!” Sarah Jane cried out defiantly, shattering the force field with the correct frequency from the sonic lipstick. She ran for the controls. 

“Oh no you don’t!” Ozmo cried out, pulling out his gun and pointing it directly at her head. “One more step and I fry you! And don’t think I haven’t forgotten, shadow boy!”

A barrier of energy trapped Kai. The man growled, slamming his fist against the imposing wall to no avail.

“Stop what you’re doing!” Sarah Jane demanded.

“No.” Ozmo responded bluntly. 

“Sarah Jane!” Sky cried out,

“No, stay back, all of you!” 

“She’s right, kids!” Ozmo gurgled. “One step and she’s pulverised! Haha!”

“This planet is not for sale!” 

“It is now!”

The room shook vigorously, sending Smithy toppling into Clyde and Rani, who grudgingly held him upright.

“I hope you’re pleased.” Rani scowled, glaring down at Smithy’s dusty brown hair. “For someone who’s so clever, you have no common sense!” 

“Is that what all that stuff with my mother was?” Clyde demanded furiously. “A cheap test for all your new emotions?”

“No, it isn’t like that!” Smithy wheezed, clutching onto the shot and attempting to support his own weight. His insistence was falling on deaf ears. “I want to live life, she does too, you told me! I want to be human...I’m just starting to live…”

“If you take that shot, you’ll be a slave! Just like us!” Sky reasoned urgently. “You can’t do this! You’ll be making Mrs Langer a slave!”

In a split second, Smithy knew what he had to do. Stumbling to his feet, he clumsily threw the shot, which collided with Ozmo’s face. The shot exploded in a burst of crackles, obscuring the Ozmoid’s face as he howled in terror, firing his weapon rapidly. 

“Get down!” Sarah Jane ordered, running back and pulling her younger compatriots to safety. Smithy did not stop. He staggered his way to the control panel, narrowly missing a beam of energy that barely signed his face. He pushed the weapon out of the alien’s hand and collapsed by the console. 

“Smithy, what are doing?!” Sky cried out.

“It doesn’t matter what I want.” Smithy muttered. “I have a primary purpose. Given to me by Sarah Jane. To protect and defend the Earth! You made me forget that!” Smithy roared as he pulled the diamond out of the teleport unit and tossing it over to Sarah Jane. Alarms started to blare and the teleport sparked and exploded.

“You fool!” Ozmo cried out. “You removed the reflector crystal! It’s gonna explode! We’re going to die and it’s all your fault!” 

“Well, that makes my job easier.” Kai muttered.

“Clyde- promise me. Look after your mother.” Smithy pleaded. “I won’t feel for her after this. I won’t even know how I felt. Listen, all of you, I’m glad this happened- because life’s for living- and don’t any of you forget it! Goodbye!”

With his speech complete, Smithy plunged his hands into the console. Sarah Jane’s eyes flew to the screen. The Xylok crystal fluttered across the screen and settled, triumphant. A bright white light encapsulated the warehouse and Sarah Jane squeezed her eyes shut. 

When she next opened them, the Xylok crystal was sat on the console, shining its array of colours victoriously. The blaring alarms ceased and a pregnant pause washed over the room.  
Sarah Jane held her breath. Waiting, hoping. 

“Attention, attention,” Mr Smith’s monotone voice rung out and Sarah Jane let out a whoop of joy. “This is Earth, Mr Smith speaking. You will disregard any previous message. Earth is defended. Refusal to comply will be met with resistance. This is your one, final warning. Any hostile action will be repelled.” 

“We did it!” Sky cheered, bouncing onto her feet.

“Mr Smith’s a crystal again!” Rani gasped.

“Never mind that, look at him!” Clyde exclaimed, pointing at the crumpled Ozmo. The alien staggered to his feet, noticeably human. 

“It is apparent that Ozmo was telling the truth about the dose. The mutagen has affected his biology permanently. He is trapped as a human.”

“NO!” Ozmo cried out. “Such a backwards species! This is all your fault!” he attempted to lunge at Sarah Jane. Before he could get close, Kai wrapped his arm around his neck and dragged him back.

“I wouldn’t try it.” the merc sneered. “With your galactic criminal record, I don’t think you’re gonna be lasting too long wherever you go.” 

“I have a teleport pending for the Shadow Proclamation outpost in Krulka 9.” Mr Smith established. Kai nodded resolutely.

“Maybe I was wrong about you after all.” the man noted.

“Quite.”

“You got what you deserved!” Sky declared, glaring at Ozmo. The former Ozmoid stumbled, staring at her with wide eyes. 

“You! You stay away from me…!” Ozmo squawked. “Can’t you see who she is? Why isn’t she being-”

Kai handcuffed Ozmo and threw him into the blue fissure that materialised near the charred console. 

“He talks too much.” Kai growled.

“What did he mean?” Sky asked worriedly.

“Don’t listen to him Sky, it was probably another lie.” Rani assured her.

“Well, Miss Smith, it was a pleasure,” Kai saluted jauntily, “But now I’ve got a crazy boss to return to. She’s crazier than me!” 

“Listen to me, Kai.” Sarah Jane urged. “You don’t have to work for the Shadow Proclamation if you don’t want to. I have a friend, he could help-”

“No, no.” Kai sighed sadly, twirling his knife aimlessly. “You don’t understand. I have to, but it’s fine, for now. I pay my penance and act as their ambassador/assassin and they shorten my prison sentence. Plus, I get to visit Earth in my leisure time.”

“Wait, you’ve been here before?” Rani inquired.

“Yup.” Kai popped the ‘p’. “It’s hideous and boring but it has its moments.”

“Why are you in their prison?” Sarah Jane inquired.

“A stupid mistake,” Kai muttered, rubbing his arm absentmindedly. “A stupid war, stupid mistake- everything about it was stupid. As long as it’s not Stormcage, I don’t mind working as their veiled slave.” 

Sarah Jane nodded, moving towards the Xylok crystal embedded in the console. Clyde and Rani joined her but Kai held Sky back and bent down to talk to her. He noted the lack of fear in the girl’s eyes. He also noted something else. Something that made his blood run cold and goosebumps to grow on his flesh.

“You must be strong.” He whispered cryptically. Sky looked at him, confused. Plark the Skullion had told her the same thing. Before Sky could demand an answer, the elusive Kai snapped his fingers and disappeared.  
~SJA~

“Mr Smith, I need you!”

Everything happened as they normally did. The chimney opened itself, a burst of exhaust that ruffled her hair, that horrible fanfare, and the supercomputer, Mr Smith.

“All systems are functioning normally, Sarah Jane.” Mr Smith informed the journalist. Sarah Jane nodded happily.

“How do you feel, Mr Smith?” Sky asked, sitting next to Rani on the attic steps.

“Yeah, what’s it like being a crystal after being human?” Rani added. 

“My functions were temporarily impaired but I have recollection of the events. The Ozmoid known as Ozmo attempted to convert the population of humanity into slaves for himself and several notable aliens who have a long-term grudge on the Earth and its inhabitants.”

“Right, that’s enough talk,” Sarah Jane declared, turning to Sky and holding out her hand. Sky accepted the gesture. “We have to return the diamond. We’re off to the police station”

“Okay, see you soon.” Rani nodded.

The Smith women soon left, leaving Rani alone in the attic with Mr Smith. She stared at the monitor, biting her lip. She had to check. She had to make sure.

“Mr Smith...has Clyde ever...said anything...about me?” Rani asked slowly, struggling to find the words.

“That information is not relevant, Rani.” Mr Smith stated bluntly. Rani chuckled.

“You really are back to normal, aren’t you?” she smiled forlornly. It was worth a shot. Maybe it had all been a lie. She sighed.

~SJA~

“I’m telling you, mum, he had to leave!” Clyde insisted. The Langer duo were throwing the bins bags out. “It was an emergency!”

“Bet it was.” Carla scoffed. “A younger, prettier emergency.”

“Mum-”

“I don’t wanna talk about it. Not like it’s the first time, but it’s definitely the last.”

Clyde froze, heartbroken.

He had to do something.

~SJA~

“Don’t worry, I said your goodbyes.” Clyde told Mr Smith later on in the attic. Sky was over at Rani’s and Sarah Jane was following up on a case.

“I’m afraid I do not understand, Clyde.” Mr Smith informed him.

“Tell me what you know about Carla Langer.” 

“Carla Langer is your mother,” the computer replied, streaming information on the monitor. “She was born Carla Nicole Dixon in Brentford, Middlesex. She is a human female, age 35...she has one sister, Melba Colleen Dixon and was formerly married to Paul Langer.”

“Is that all?”

“Again, I do not understand.”

“You did,” Clyde said, “You really did, and I found a way to let her know.”

~SJA~

“Thank you,” Carla smiled as she accepted the large bouquet of flowers. She closed the door, and noticed a note nestled between the carnations. She plucked it up and read:

“To my wonderful Carla. I’m so sorry, I can’t tell you why but I had to leave, and I can’t be with you. I’ll never forget you. Love always, Smithy. Oh, and always remember- life’s for living!”

Carla allowed the tears to flow freely from her face. Just this once.

Life was for living, after all.


	3. 509. The Thirteenth Floor - Part One

It was a quiet day in the _ London Evening Messenger _ office block. Such a thing was not unheard of at this time of the evening. The clock ticked by and the janitor swept the floor with his mop, hunched over and ignored. Two journalists were still around, working late. The room was uncomfortably silent barring the clicking of keys on the keyboard and the sipping sound of coffees being consumed as the two hurried to get everything finished on time. 

 

“Look at the time,” Rick, the older of the two, cursed as he checked his watch.  _ 9:40 PM. _ He turned to his co-worker. “I’m going to be late! Help me out, Arthur!”

 

“But I’m just a junior reporter!” Arthur protested, looking at Rick in disdain. Arthur was well aware of Rick’s date with Lisa Parker, a clerk at the Mayor’s office. He also knew Rick would never finish on time to meet her, though he kept that to himself. “I don’t have the experience. Besides, you’re supposed to be training me!” 

 

Rick ignored him. He grabbed his coat and walked over to the teenager. “Consider this your lesson of the day.” With that, he left his notes on Arthur’s desk and left the room. Arthur huffed in annoyance. He picked up the notes, and flicked through them absently.

 

**~SJA~**

 

Rick strolled through the corridor happily, whistling a jaunty tune. He pressed the elevator button, waiting patiently for the lift to arrive. Today was a good day. From the corner of his eye, Rick noticed the janitor, Arnold, stooped over mopping the floor.

 

“You missed a spot, Arnold.” Rick teased. The elevator chimed open, prompting Rick to step inside. 

 

Arnold stopped mopping the floor, watching as the doors slid closed. He tilted his head to the side, nictitating membranes snapping across his eyes.

 

**~SJA~**

 

Rick selected the ground floor and waited patiently as the lift began its descent. The lift moved slowly. Down… down… down… then it stopped precariously between floors twelve and fourteen. There was no floor thirteen. Rick huffed. This was preposterous, he was going to be late! He jabbed at the ground floor button again, but the lift refused to move.

 

“Stupid thing!” Rick growled under his breath. The elevator lurched suddenly and Rick was nearly thrown off his feet. He grabbed the railing to steady himself. The red text flickering on the panel stated  _ 13 _ . He whimpered, slightly terrified.

 

Slowly, the elevator doors slid open and light streamed through. Rick stared, transfixed. It was absolutely impossible. His wonder quickly morphed into horror. He screamed.

 

**~SJA~**

 

Arthur paused flicking through the notes when he heard a strange sounding roar. Looking through the window into the corridor, he was greeted with the unspectacular image of Arnold mopping the floor. He frowned, returning to his note reading.

 

It must have been his imagination.

**~SJA~**

 

Gita Chandra was washing the plates, humming a little tune to herself when Rani walked into the room with a confident smile and her best clothes. She coughed, catching her mother’s attention. 

“Oh!” Gita beamed. “Look at you! So beautiful. You look so grown up.”

“You think?” Rani smiled. “I really want to look like a reporter for my first day. Make a good impression.”

“You look fine, my darling,” Gita assured her, smiling sadly. “To think that you’ll be gone soon, off to live your own life without me or you dad getting in the way.”

“Oh, don’t be so sure, mum.” Rani teased. “I’ll be scrounging off you both for years to come.”

“Now, don’t be silly, Rani!” Gita chastised her.

“Yes, yes, I know,” Rani smiled. “I’m off, can’t exactly keep Sarah Jane waiting. Bye!”

“Have fun!”

Rani left the house and crossed the road, where Sarah Jane, Sky and Clyde were waiting for her.

“Wow!” Sky gasped in awe. “You look nice, Rani!” 

“Nice, eh?” Rani smirked. “You really are Luke’s sister.”

“Nice isn’t quite the word I’d use,” Clyde smirked. “You look like a librarian with your new threads.”

“Oh, shut up, Clyde!” Rani huffed, shoving him lightly. Clyde chuckled, the mischievous look in his eyes transitioning into something warmer. Rani couldn’t quite place it.

“Nah, you look great.” he assured her with a fond - if a little smitten - smile. 

“So, here goes Rani Chandra, investigative reporter, to her first day of work experience! Maybe I’ll luck out and get to do some actual work!”

“Oh, I wouldn’t be so sure, investigative reporter,” Sarah Jane warned, “A week of work experience? First day? You’ll most likely be making the tea.” 

“Right, of course,” Rani nodded, her smile waning slightly.

“Come on then, you don’t want to be late for your first day!” Sarah Jane said as she got into her car. Rani joined her and the two set off. Clyde and Sky watched them go.

“I hope she has fun.” Sky beamed.

“Yeah, me too.” Clyde muttered slowly, watching the car drive off with a sad smile.

**~SJA~**

“Clyde, what do you think I’ll be when I’m older?” Sky asked her older friend as they walked towards Park Vale Comprehensive. “I can’t quite decide.”

“At the rate you’re going, you could be all grown up by next week!” Clyde quipped, grinning proudly of himself.

“I’m not sure I want to grow up,” Sky confessed, “I like being a kid.”

“Yeah, I do too,” Clyde agreed sadly. “It’s alright for you, you have ages to go but it’s almost over for me, I know it is. Look at Luke, he’s already in uni! Rani’s not far behind - applying to all sorts, left, right and centre, she is.”

“You don’t want to lose her,” Sky noted.

“Er, no,” Clyde scoffed. “No way!” his mood shifted again and he looked down at the ground in despair. “I know I should be looking at art colleges- but I keep putting it off. I don’t want to grow up. Me and Rani, we help Sarah Jane save the world more times than Simon Cowell gets his teeth whitened. I don’t want that to change.”

Sky reached over and held his hand, hoping to provide some semblance of comfort. Eventually, the pair reached the school and were forced to part ways, promising to meet each other after school.

**~SJA~**

Sarah Jane’s car pulled up in the drive of the  _ London Evening Messenger.  _ She gazed at it thoughtfully.

“Are you okay, Sarah Jane?” Rani asked her curiously.

“I’m fine, Rani,” Sarah Jane assured her without taking her eyes off the building. “This building has changed a lot since my days here, that’s all.”

“Oh yeah?”

“Yeah.” Sarah Jane grinned at her. “Fleet Street is one of those places with a sense of purpose built into it and then this office block - it looks out of its time.”

“You think?” Rani admired the building. “I quite like it.”

“Yes, well, enough of the building,” Sarah Jane turned to Rani. “I could go in with you- introduce you, if you’d like?”

“No,” Rani stated firmly. “I need to get used to doing things by myself. I want to stand on my own two feet, however shaky they may be.”

“Be confident in yourself, Rani!” Sarah Jane reassured her. “You’re very talented and extremely capable.”

“Thanks, Sarah Jane,” Rani smiled. “Well, I’d best be off. Don’t want to keep them waiting on my first day!”

Sarah Jane watched as the Rani unbuckled her seat belt and stepped out of the car. She waved when Rani reached the door and waited until she was inside before she pulled out of the drive.

**~SJA~**

Rani admired the building interior. It was a typical glass and steel office. People streamed in and out, progressing with their day. Sunlight streamed through the windows and she felt a little overwhelmed by the chatter that surrounded her.  Spotting a receptionist’s desk, Rani decided to stop gawking and take action. 

The wooden desk was neat, the computer state of the art and the general area tidy. The receptionist, a blonde petite woman, was whispering furiously with a teenaged boy. Rani edged closer curiously, straining her ears to catch the conversation.

“...And he never showed up!” the boy whispered feverishly. “Lisa Parker  _ actually  _ called the office asking for him. He never attended the date- and that’s not even the worst of it! His car was found in the car park, riddled with parking tickets! He didn’t even make it to his car!”

“Look, Arthur, I know you’ve been dying for a scoop for ages, but this has got to stop!” the receptionist hissed. “Stop digging into conspiracy theories. Your aunt will throw a fit!”

“But it’s not a conspiracy-”

“Hello!” the receptionist exclaimed cheerily upon noticing Rani, cutting Arthur off. “Can I help you?”

“Oh, right, sorry!” Rani laughed nervously, her eyes briefly flitting over the blonde boy as he breathed in and out slowly, calming himself. His distorted face soon relaxed. “I’m Rani Chandra, the student from Park Vale? I start work experience today?”

“Rani Chandra?” Arthur repeated. “You’re with me. I’m Arthur Matthews, I’ve been sent to collect you. If you’d care to follow me…”

Rani complied and followed the boy to an elevator.

“Our regular boss is...indisposed at the moment.” Arthur explained as they entered the elevator. “So we’ll be working under Chantelle - she’s the boss lady for now.”

“Right,” Rani nodded, eyeing the elevator panel. Her eyes locked onto a specific fact. “There’s no thirteenth floor.”

“Oh, yeah. The builders were probably superstitious or something.” Arthur stated dismissively. 

“Triskaidekaphobia.”

“What?”

“Triskaidekaphobia.” Rani repeated confidently. “It’s the fear of the number thirteen.”

“How do you know that?” Arthur asked, staring at her weirdly.

“A friend taught me.” Rani stated simply. “So, hey, what was all that about downstairs?”

“Oh, you heard that?”

“Yeah… sorry,” Rani grinned sheepishly. “So, my question?”

“You know how I mentioned the boss, Rick?” Arthur asked her. Rani nodded. “He vanished last night.”

“Vanished how?”

“Come off it, you heard the story,” Arthur scoffed. “No one knows! He just did! And there’s more…”

“What is it?” Rani asked curiously. Arthur looked at her gravely.

“Meet me during lunch and I’ll explain it all. You’re gonna need some incentive to get through the morning.”

“It can’t be  _ that _ bad,” Rani scoffed as the lift pinged open. Stepping out, she nearly collided with a janitor who was watching the elevator eagerly. “Oh, sorry! I should’ve watched where I was going.”

“Quite alright, miss,” Arnold nodded humbly, turning to Arthur. “Good morning, sir.”

“Hey, Arnold.” Arthur mumbled without sparing the man a thought, grabbing Rani by the arm and pulling her along. “Come on, we’re going to be late.”

Arnold watched them go, a sneer twisting his lips. 

“That was a bit rude,” Rani hissed once they were out of earshot of the janitor.

“Oh, he’s used to it,” Arthur said dismissively. “You haven’t even seen rude yet.”

The pair entered a room and Rani was immediately greeted with a hubbub of voices as people typed on computers furiously and yelled at each other to work on something or other to meet deadlines and create schedules. Rani stood, a little stunned at the sight. She was actually standing in a room with journalists. A group of journalists. She laughed quietly to herself. 

“This is amazing!” Rani whispered to Arthur. The boy smiled slightly at her enthusiasm. It was refreshing, he had almost forgotten what it was like to be enthusiastic in such a depressing environment. The smile died out as soon as an imposing looking woman approached them with a scowl on her face.

“Aww, isn’t that sweet?” the woman cooed insincerely at Arthur. “You decided to help the new girl! You’re late. You’re on double time.”

“But you’re the one who-”

“I didn’t ask for an answer, Arthur.” the woman scowled. “Go,  _ now _ .” the boy hurriedly scuttled away and the woman turned her piercing gaze to Rani. “I suppose you’re the Park Vale work experience student?”

“Well, yes, but-”

“I didn’t ask for an answer.” The woman held her hand up. “Chantelle Matthews, remember the name, I’m your boss for the week.”

“Oh, okay. I’m -”

“Irrelevant. You speak when I tell you to.” Chantelle interrupted her with a glare. “Look around you, girl. You may have made friends with my nephew but this is a working zone. You’re here for work  _ experience _ . That means you’re here to get experience so that you can try to get a job in the future _ ;  _ not to lark about. Got it?”

Rani nodded.

“Good. Now go fetch me a coffee.”

**~SJA~**

“So much for work experience, I’ve only been fetching coffee and papers the last few hours!” Rani protested over the phone.

“Well, Sarah Jane did warn you, so you’ve only got yourself to blame,” Clyde informed her jovially, grinning as Rani huffed on the other side.

“Whatever,” Rani said before looking around cautiously as she fetched Chantelle yet another coffee. The other journalists had been no help at all. When she had tried to introduce herself, they had all simply brushed her off and continued with their work. Arthur had been the only one kind enough to talk to her on the rare occasions Rani wasn’t running around fetching beverages. “I’ll tell you what though, something strange is happening in this building.”

“Strange how?” 

“People are disappearing and the police haven’t a clue!” Rani explained excitedly.

“Oh boy, doesn’t that sound familiar,” Clyde sighed. “Are children disappearing too?”

“That’s not funny, Clyde,” Rani reprimanded him, as she picked up the coffee cup. “There’s something going on here, and I have to find out what.”

“What about Sarah Jane?”

“She’s trying to get another interview from that Noah guy.” Rani sighed. “I’ve left her a message. Meet me here for lunch? I’m off in five minutes.”

“It’s a good thing I’m already on my way!” Clyde said happily.

“What? Why?”

“You thought I’d not have lunch with you after your first day? As if!” 

“You’re a dummy.” Rani flushed.

“You wish!” Clyde snorted. “Look, I’m almost here. Meet you on the bottom floor?”

“Okay, see you soon.” Rani smiled to herself as she hung up. She returned to Chantelle’s office with her cup of coffee, reaching to knock on the door when it flew open.

“Ah, newbie. I’m off for lunch. You’re on break.” Chantelle told her before skulking off. Rani stood in the doorway, confused.

“Don’t worry, she does that,” Arthur smiled gingerly as he approached her. “You get used to it.”

“She’s a bit…”

“Bossy?” Arthur supplied.

“I was gonna go with demanding.” Rani confessed. The two chuckled.

“I did warn you it was crazy here.” 

“Crazy doesn’t cut it.” Rani quipped, her eyes narrowing when she noticed the folder in Arthur’s hands. “Is that it?”

“Are you sure you want to know?” Arthur asked cautiously.

“Oh, don’t do that, that’ll just make me want to know even more!” Rani chuckled. 

“Okay,” Arthur nodded uneasily, striding over to a desk and sitting on the chair. Rani followed, sitting in a desk chair opposite him. “It’s all in here. The _ London Evening Messenger _ . This office block has got a reputation for people going missing. Look,” Arthur opened the book, “It was built ten years ago and people have just vanished ever since.”

“How so?”

“People would come into work and just disappear!” Arthur explained. Rani frowned and took the book from his hands, flicking the page. 

“The cars were left in the car park,” Rani read, frowning when she digested the words. “Like Rick’s.”

“It isn’t just this one either!” Arthur exclaimed, snatching the book back, “Look, before they revived the  _ London Evening Messenger,  _ there was a hotel here.”

“ _ Family disappears from Messenger Hotel _ .” Rani read aloud.

“From room number thirteen!” Arthur pointed out. “Something’s happening here and people are just ignoring it! But I can’t, I have to find out the truth. This could be my big scoop!” 

“Okay, stay here.” Rani ordered, standing from her chair and walk towards the door.

“What - where are you going?!” Arthur demanded.

“I have to meet up with a friend. We’ll go have a look around, find out what’s wrong.”

“I’m helping too. This is my case!” Arthur protested.

“I know, but we can help!” Rani told him firmly. “Just wait here, I’ll be back!” 

**~SJA~**

“You’re joking, right?” Clyde inquired, his sandwich frozen an inch away from his mouth. 

“No, Clyde. I told you something was happening here, didn’t I?” Rani sighed, stepping into the elevator, quickly followed by her male friend. She pressed the button for the eighteenth floor. In her rush, she had jumped down all the steps and was too tired to run up.

“Apollo 13 had Tom Hanks in it,” Clyde quipped as the elevator began its ascent. “That would explain a lot.”

“Clyde, seriously, now is not the time -” Rani was cut off when the elevator lights blinked out rapidly. The whole area juddered violently, sending her crashing into the wall. It shook again, throwing her off balance and sending her crashing into Clyde. Rani let out a scream as the elevator continued its violent course and, with one final crash, the elevator stopped. Clyde and Rani lapsed into silence, breathing heavily, too scared to speak.

“ _ Floor thirteen, floor thirteen, floor thirteen.”  _ the elevator voice module announced monotonously. 

“But there isn’t a thirteenth floor.” Clyde murmured. “That’s what you told me.”

“ _ Doors opening.” _

The elevator doors slowly opened and what was outside them shocked the pair.

“That’s impossible…” Rani whispered.

It was a forest. A thick, green rainforest that spanned beyond their eyesight. Mist danced around the roots, creating a dense blanket that made it difficult to see. Birds chittered aimlessly from perches neither Clyde nor Rani could locate. They appeared to be in a clearing, a path marked out for them by tangled grass and broken tree roots.

“I don’t think we’re in Ealing.” Clyde breathed. 

“Where are we?” Rani asked. “What could this be? It’s just a lift!” 

“It’s not exactly teleport material, that’s for sure, but the people had to disappear somehow.” Clyde pointed out. “Maybe they’re still around.”

Tentatively, the pair stepped out, examining the change in environment, and the lift disappeared in a burst of fire.

“No!” Rani cried out, running to the spot, hopelessly willing the life to return. “No, this can’t happen…”

“Rani,” Clyde said sadly, pulling her arm. “It’s not there, let’s go look around. Maybe it’s just… I dunno, teleported?”

**~SJA~**

Arnold cheered as the lift opened with the occupants emptied out. Two more people claimed. He bellowed in celebration, his perception filter stripped away to reveal the garishly grey skinned humanoid underneath.

Arthur watched the transformation in horror from his position in the office room, quietly shuffling to a hiding place behind the desks. He wasn’t sure why but the creature frightened him, and he felt the need to hide from it. The fear burrowed deep into his guts and gnawed away, his brain whispering stories and facts in his head.

_ The creature is harmless. The creature is nice. _

_ The creature will kill you. _

**~SJA~**

A loud bellow rang out across the clearing, and the floor vibrated with the beat of heavy footsteps. Clyde and Rani stopped and gripped each other, their eyes skittering over entry points, trying to locate the source.

“I don’t like this,” Rani whimpered.

“I’m with you on that,” Clyde agreed. “This is way freaky,”

“Over here!” Rani whispered, dragging him over to a small clearing. They clambered down the steps and waited, with bated breaths. A moment later, Clyde was struck by an idea and fished out his phone. 

“It doesn’t work,” he hissed.

“Well, of course it doesn’t work, Clyde, we’re in a forest!” Rani retorted. 

Their bickering was cut off no sooner than it began when the sound of logs crashing to the floor filled their ears. Spinning around, they came face to face with an old woman.

“It’s… it’s you.” the woman gasped, staring at Rani. “It’s you! People! People!” 

“Who are you?” Rani asked. “How do you know me?”

“It’s been  _ forty-six years _ .” 

“What do you mean? Who are you?”

“My name…” the woman paused, gathering her thoughts. Eventually, she abandoned the thought and produced a card attached to a lanyard. The laminated paper had peeled with age, the words faded, making it almost unreadable.“Chantelle. Chantelle Matthews.”

Rani looked shocked by this, finding herself unable to comprehend the idea of being stuck in one place forever. She turned and looked at Clyde, hoping for some kind of reassurance, proof that the woman was lying, anything at all. Maybe the lift would return, or perhaps Sarah Jane could get to them somehow. But he couldn’t provide any, he just looked back at her, forlorn.

The bellowing noise thundered through the forest again, louder than before. And the heavy footsteps seemed to be approaching, the thudding shaking the ground around them. Closer, and closer, and closer.

“Chantelle?” Rani gasped, turning to the aged woman and trying her best to drown out the noise. “What do you mean, how are you here?” 

“The elevator. It  _ took me _ .” Chantelle whispered. “It took me and - it’s been forty-six years!”

“You left a couple minutes ago!” Rani protested.

“I counted every single day,” Chantelle wailed. “Forty-six years I’ve been stuck here. And now you’re stuck too.”


End file.
